Method of making plywood from wood waste and product resulting therefrom



1953 c. u. GRAMELSPACHER 2,663,661

METHOD OF MAKING PLYWOOD FROM WOOD WASTE AND PRODUCT RESULTING THEREFROM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1951 INVENTOR CLARENCE U. GRAMELSPACHER i ML ATTORNEYS GRAMELSPACHER 2,663,661 ING PLYWOOD FROM woon WASTE UCT RESULTING THEREFROM D66. 22, 1953 Q U METHOD OF MAK AND PROD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8. 1951 wLf r INVENTOR CLARENCE U.GRAMELSPACHER ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 22, 1953 METHOD OF f MAKING 'P LYWO OD WOOD WASTEAND PRODUCT RESULT ING "THEREFROM Clarence U.=Gramelspacher, Jaspenilnd. Applicationctober8, 1951; Serial No. 2503 17 This invention relates to a methodofmak'ing a wood product from wastewood strips.

In the manufacture of plywood sheets, the edges of the plywood'sheets are trimmed as a final operation to bring the sheetsto size and to provide straight edges on the sheets. Thus the strips that are removed from the plywood sheets are waste material.

In the manufacture of plywood the veneer sheets are placed on both sides of a core sheet and it is necessary that-the veneersheets overlap the core sheet at the edges toinsure bonding of the veneer sheetsthroughout the entire extent of the plyboard. Thus the edges of a plyboard are irregular in shape because of the projecting veneer sheets. It is necessary to make the'plywood sheet somewhat larger than actual finished size because of the irregularities that occur-in'the edges. The irregular edges of the plywood sheet are then removed bya'suitable-sawing operation .to' square the edges of the plywood sheet-and bring it to size.

It is, therefore, an Object o'f'this invention to provide a method of making'a wood product utilizing the waste edge strips that'ar'e removed from plywood sheets in the trimming operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide amethod of making a wood pro'duct'from waste edge strips removed from plywood'sheets in the sizing operation of them .whereby'the'wood strips can be arranged in a pattern to giveapatterned wood product as aresult'of an'ass'embly. oi'the Waste strips together.

It is another objectof the invention to provide amethod of making a'wood product utilizing the waste wood strips produced in the sizing operation of plywood sheets wherein thewood strips are assembled in a manner'tha't the irregular edges face one another and the spaces between the irregular faces of the strips are filled withcomminuted Wood particles including a binder so as to bond the-wood-strips together by means of the comminuted Wood particles, such as sawdust, when the binder contained' 'in' the filling isset'in any suitablemanner. 7

Further objects and advantages wilrbecome apparent from the--drawing's' and the following description.

-In'the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective elevational view of a wood product made according to the method of this invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective elevational view of a conventional plywood sheet and illustrating the 2 Claims. (01. 154-418) 2i manner in which 'thewa'ste fistrips are -obtained from such a sheet."

- Figure 3 is a persp'ective elevational viewof aply-wood product made' accordin'g to the method' of this ii-ivention and illustratingthe.manner in which panels-of predetermined thickness canbe obtained.

Figure 4 is a perspective elevational view of a woodproduct made 'aceording t'o the method of this invention,' but illustrating a -modified-arran'gement of I the waste "vfioo'dj strips relative to' one another.

In- Figure 2 thereis illustrated acOnVen'tion'alfive ply plywood sheet consisting of the core board [0, the veneer plies II and I2 on one side-0f the core board-and the veneerplies lii and? on "the opposite side of the 'core boardi The veneerplies H -and form the faceplies of"oppositesides of-the plywood sheet-1'5:

In the manufacture of th'e plywo'o'd sheet l 5; the ply board Ill hasassembled thereon theveneer' sheets ll, [2, l3 and l4 With=a suitable-adhesive between thesheets. 'The-"veneer sheets extend over the edges-of'the core board Hitocompletely 5 cover-the same,and'the entireassembly is slightly larger than the -dime'nsions of the finished plywood sheet to} avoid any requirement of extreme accuracy in thesizing of'the'veneer sheet and-the core board in the =n ianuitacture of the plywood sheet.

After the veneers'heets -have been bonded to the core board I 0 and to'one another; the edges of the plywood sheet l 5 are= trimmed bye. 7 suitable sawing c operation ias along the saw j lines I 6' and H 'whereby 'n arrowstrips m and l9are removed "from the edgespf the plywood sheet I 5'; Normally these edge strips l 8." and I 9" are waste material and'rnust be -thrown" away orburne'dj Each ofthewaste strips [8 andfls has the Ifiatfaces 20 and 2! that arethel'normal face the face" 23' as'anirregular race; ){IhuSgthe strips could "not be assembled tog'therin the form-Mas removed from? thepiywcoa street. I 5llbecause. any assembly. of'ithef. strip Woul'dihave an. irregular face," for. hollow portions would be provided hetween adjacent strips.

To utilize the waste strips to their fullest extent, without removing any of the good wood from the strips, it is the purpose of this invention to provide means wherein the irregular faces of the strips can be filled with comminuted wood 3 particles, such as sawdust, and thereby provide for the production of a solid wood article from the waste trim strips removed from the plywood sheet.

Since all of the waste strips are substantially alike they will all be referred to hereinafter under the reference number [9.

In Figure 1 the waste strips 19 are placed in side by side relation with the fiat faces 20 and 2| of the respective strips engaging one another so that the strips 19 are arranged in rows.

For example, a bottom row 25 of the waste strips 19 are assembled together as shown in Figure 1 with an adhesive provided between each of the strips.

Comminuted wood particles 26, such as sawdust, are then placed upon the row 25 of wood strips to more than cover the highest edge of the wood strips l9.

A second or top row 30 of wood strips 19 are assembled in the same manner of the top row 25 with adhesive material between the strips and placed upon the body of sawdust or comminuted wood, that has been placed on the bottom row 25.

Preferably, the comminuted wood particles 25, or sawdust, contains a binder either as an im-- pregnant of the wood particles or as a granular material mixed with the particles.

If desired, a wood veneer sheet 3! is placed against the bottom row 25 of the wood strips and a similarwood veneer sheet 32 is, placed on the top row 30 of the wood strips, suitable adhesive being provided between the wood veneer sheets 3! and 32 and the .wood strips of the rows 25 and 30.

The binder included with the comminuted 'wood particles 26 is set in any suitable manner, and the adhesive provided between the wood strips 19 and between the veneer sheets 3| and 32 and the strips 19 can all be set at the same time to cause a-bonding of the wood particles together and to the wood strips, and a bonding of the wood strips together and to the veneer sheets.

It will thus be seen that a wood product, comparable with the usual plywood sheet can be produced from the waste strips normally removed from plywood sheets. Of course, it is understood that the veneer sheets 3| and 32 of the product illustrated in Figure 1 can be left off of the product if desired.

In Figure 3 there is illustrated an arrangement of a plurality of the assemblies illustrated in Figure 1 wherein each of the sheet assemblies 35 are placed one upon the other in stacked arrangement. These assemblies 35 are bonded together with an adhesive between the assemblies and if desired a single veneer sheet can be used between each of the assemblies in the place of two veneer sheets as illustrated in Figure 3, thus saving several veneer sheets.

The product illustrated in Figure 3 is preferably built up in the form of blocks in a length equal to the length of the waste wood strips 19, the blocks being of any suitable size, but conventionally being about 16" high and 16" wide. The block assembly illustrated in Figure 3 is then severed transversely into thin sheets 40. of predetermined thickness, .the sheets 40 thereby each having a decorative pattern'in it established by the arrangement of the assembly of the individ- 4 ual wood strips [9. The sheets 40 can be used in conventional manner for covering walls.

In Figure 4 there is illustrated another assembly arrangement of the waste wood strips [9 to give a difierent pattern from that illustrated in Figure 3 when the product is severed transversely to remove individual sheets of predetermined thickness from it. It will, of course, be understood that other pattern arrangements can be assembled from the waste Wood strips 19.

While the method and the product disclosed herein is the preferred form of the invention, yet both the method and the product can be modified from that illustrated and described herein without departin from the spirit of the invention, and all modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure as new by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of making a built-up wood product from waste plywood strips which comprises the steps of assembling together a plurality of waste plywood strips, each of said wood strips havin three fiat surfaces matching the flat surfaces of the other strips and afourth irregular surface, aligning said strips in a first row with the matching surfaces of adjacent strips in engagement and the irregular surfaces facing upwardly, filling the space between the irregular surfaces with comminuted wood particles, placing a second row of wood strips aligned like said first row upon the body of wood particles with the irregular surfaces thereof facing downwardly and in opposed relationship to said first row, and filling the space between the irregular surfaces of said opposed rows to form a built-up wood product from waste plywood.

2. A plywood product comprising a pair of upper and lower rows of wood strips consisting of plywood scraps severed from the edges of plyboards, each of said rows being similarly constructed and comprising a lurality of said wood strips arranged together to form a built-up panel of said strips, each of said strips comprising an elongated member having three fiat surfaces and a fourth irregular surface, said irregular surface of each row facing m the same direction and the irregular surfaces of the upper and lower rows facing eachother, the space between said upper and lower rows and between said irregular suriacles being filled with comminuted wood paraeaacci I CLARENCE U. GRAMELSPACHER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 947,508 Wright Jan. 25, 191 1,078,776 Dunton Nov. 18, 1913 1,805,179 Loetscher May'12, 1931 1,997,803 Miller Apr. 16, 1935 2,062,175 Hartman Nov. 24, 1936 2,200,650 Welch May 14, 1940 2,324,628 Kahr July 20, 1943 2,356,625 Schumann Aug. 22, 1944 2,419,614 Welch Apr. 29, 1947 2,601,349 Welch June 24, 1952 

1. A METHOD OF MAKING A BUILT-UP WOOD PRODUCT FROM WASTE PLYWOOD STRIPS WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF ASSEMBLING TOGETHER A PLURALITY OF WASTE PLYWOOD STRIPS, EACH OF SAID WOOD STRIPS HAVING THREE FLAT SURFACES MATCHING THE FLAT SURFACES OF THE OTHER STRIPS AND A FOURTH IRREGULAR SURFACE, ALIGNING SAID STRIPS IN A FIRST ROW WITH THE MATCHING SURFACES OF ADJACENT STRIPS IN ENGAGEMENT AND THE IRREGULAR SURFACE FACING UP WARDLY, FILLING THE SPACE BETWEEN THE IRREGULAR SURFACES WITH COMMINUTED WOOD PARTICLES, PLACING A SECOND ROW OF WOOD STRIPS ALIGNED LIKE SAID FIRST ROW UPON THE BODY OF WOOD PARTICLES WITH THE IRREGULAR SURFACES THEREOF FACING DOWNWARDLY AND IN OPPOSED RELATIONSHIP TO SAID FIRST ROW, AND FILLING THE SPACE BETWEEN THE IRREGULAR SURFACES OF SAID OPPOSED ROWS TO FORM A BUILT-UP WOOD PRODUCT FROM WASTE PLYWOOD. 